The Assistant
by JantoJones
Summary: Jack hires an assistant for Ianto. It doesn't go well. (Janto)


"...And here we are back at the main hub."

Jack concluded Jennie Marshall's tour of the Torchwood base in preparation for her new job.

"Ordinarily, Ianto himself would have shown you around but he's out on a clean-up," Jack told her. "Thereby proving why we need your presence."

Due to the increase in rift activity, everyone had a bigger workload, but Ianto more so. Jack had decided to hire him an assistant. Obviously, he couldn't advertise in the job centre, so he'd trawled through the files of the surviving members of Torchwood One. He'd eventually narrowed it down to Jennie and approached her with the job offer. She'd accepted immediately.

"I'll leave it up to Ianto to assign you your duties," Jack continued. "In the meantime, sit yourself on the sofa and fill in these medical forms. Owen insists.

About an hour later, the team returned from their clean-up mission. Jack introduced Jennie to everyone, and upon reaching Ianto said;

"I believe you've met before."

Ianto and Jennie both said, "Yes we have." as they shook hands. Jennie's tone made it sound as thought they'd been close. Ianto's conveyed that they'd been on nodding terms in the lobby. Jack glanced between the two of them and tried to ignore the faint alarm bell which had started ringing at the back of his mind.

"Okay Ianto, get Jennie started, then I want to see you in my office."

He shook Jennie's hand. "Welcome to Torchwood Cardiff."

Ianto set Jennie away filing Owen's paperwork. There was about a month's worth, thanks to the medic's amazing powers of procrastination. He knocked on Jack's door and entered without waiting for an answer. Jack motioned for him to sit down.

"How well do you know Jennie?"

"We worked on the same floor," Ianto replied with a shrug. "We spoke to each other once or twice a day at most. Is there a problem, Jack?"

"It's probably just my paranoia, Yan."

Ianto stood up.

"As much as I'd like to discuss your shortcomings, I've got work to do."

Before stepping out of the office, Ianto was stopped by Jack and drawn in for a quick kiss.

"That's sexual harassment, Jack," laughed Ianto.

"Sue me,"

Jennie entered the hub just in time to see the two men kissing and jealousy stabbed at her heart.

"Just ignore them, Jen," Owen called across to her. "You get used to it eventually.

******************************************

Two days on, Jennie seemed to be settling in well, except in the presence of Jack. The captain found her to be sullen, but when he mentioned this to Owen, Gwen and Tosh, they all disagreed. In the the privacy of Jack's office, Ianto owned up to having doubts about Jennie.

"It's not her work," he was quick to point out. "She gets into my personal space all the time and constantly flirts. It feels like she takes every opportunity to touch me."

"Ianto, you could be talking about me."

Ianto thought about this and grudgingly accepted.

"I think she's sullen around you because she's jealous of us."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "I kinda got that. It does seem as though she's becoming obsessed with you. Jennie is just gonna have to get over herself. Where is she now?"

"I sent her to do some cataloging in the archives."

Unknown to either of them, Jennie was on the top level of gantries in the hub. She'd developed an intense dislike to Jack and his relationship with Ianto. She wanted the Welshman to herself and would do anything to get him. At that moment, Jennie was loosening the walkway to wobble severely when stepped on. She'd already loosened the handrail. During a coffee break earlier that day, Gwen had imparted several bits of office gossip. One of which, was that Jack liked to stand up in the upper gantries and look down on the hub when it was empty. Jennie latched on to this piece of information and used it as the basis of her plan to take Jack out of Ianto's life. It never occurred to her that killing your boss to get a guy was far from normal.

It was a further three days before Jennie's plan came to fruition. At four in the morning, Jack was once again unable to sleep, so was wandering around the hub. Without any conscious thought, he found himself in the upper gantries. Jack stepped onto the loosened walkway and immediately lost his balance. Automatically, he reached out for the handrail, which came off in his hand. As he tumbled to the ground, Jack only had time to think, this is going to hurt.  
Death came instantly.

*********************************

As usual, Ianto was the first to arrive at the hub. He entered just as Jack was picking himself up.

"Have you taken to sleeping on the floor now?"

"Only when I fall from the ceiling."

He explained to Ianto what happened.

"I'll check the walkway," Ianto told him. "It shouldn't just give way like that."

"I don't think it was accidental."

Jack had formed a theory about Torchwood's newest member and asked Ianto's opinion of it.

"She's not your biggest fan Jack, but would she kill you just to get me?"

Silently, they both looked up to where Jack had fallen from.

"There's no CCTV up there," Ianto commented. "So we can't prove she had anything to do with it."

They continued looking up for a few seconds until they heard the cogwheel door open.

As Jennie entered, she was disappointed to see the captain still very much alive and well. She was growing impatient waiting for the trap to be sprung. It was then she saw the blood on the floor where the two men were standing, nearby was the handrail. Jack and Ianto saw the brief look of panic in her eyes, but only because they were looking for it.

"Morning Jennie," Jack greeted her brightly. He gave no indication of his suspicions. He turned away to head for his office and quietly told Ianto to keep things between themselves.

Jennie spent the rest of the day plotting another way to kill Jack. She couldn't believe he'd survived the fall unscathed. He should have at least suffered major injury, but he didn't have a mark on him. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to be alone as Ianto stuck with her all day. Not that she had too much of a problem with his close proximity. Jennie was captivated by his citrusy aftershave. Ianto, on the other hand, felt decidedly uncomfortable with Jennie. Working with Ianto all day made the young woman all the more determined to take Jack out of the picture. Which was why she was less than subtle with her next murder attempt.

After everyone had left for the night, Jennie lay in wait in an empty flat overlooking the water tower. She knew Jack always used the lift during the night (which was more out of laziness than anything else). With a silenced pistol in her hand, Jennie waited for the captain to put in an appearance. Her patience paid off at 3:30am. Jack didn't get more than four paces from the tower before he was taken down by three shots. Two to the head and one in the back. Jennie was tempted to go to Jack's body, to make sure that he was dead, but couldn't risk being seen on CCTV. Instead, she went straight home to her bed and dreamt of being the one to comfort Ianto.

Jack awoke to the usual pain and confusion, which accompanied each resurrection.

"This is becoming tedious," he mumbled as he climbed to his feet. "I've got to get a safer job."

Looking around, Jack could find no indication of what had killed him this time. The only way to get the answer was to check out the CCTV. It didn't make for pleasant viewing. Jack couldn't prove who had shot him, but had a fair inkling. Picking up the phone, he called Ianto to tell him of the new development.

"I'll be right there."

Before Jack could tell him not to come, Ianto had hung up. Weirdly, Jack felt a fluttering in his stomach and realised he was excited by the Welshman's imminent arrival.

Ianto reached the hub in record time. He practically ran through the hub to Jack's office.

"Are you okay, Jack?"

"You know full well it takes more than three little bullets to take me out," he held up his greatcoat. "This, though, has a hole in it."

Ianto kissed Jack deeply and took his coat from him.

"I'll get this sorted for you, but not right now," he took hold of Jack's hand and pulled him from his chair. "I can think of better things to do."

***************************************

Fully expecting to find a scene of grief, Jennie strode with confidence into the hub. However, instead of grief, she found Owen, Gwen and Tosh taking their coats off and chatting. Maybe they didn't know yet that Jack was dead. The three of them were completely ignorant of what had been going on over the last few days. Jack didn't want them to know unless it became necessary. He and Ianto were still lying in Jack's bed.

"Maybe we should get up, Jack."

Ianto was laid on his back with Jack half draped over him.

"I suppose we better had," agreed Jack. "I've heard voices up there, so the day must have started."

"I think we're about to confirm who shot you last night."

The two men had agreed not to give anything away to Jennie. They had no evidence against her after all. Jack was adamant though , that he wasn't going to get murdered a third time.

"Have you finally worn each other out?" was Owen's sarcastic comment as Jack and Ianto emerged from the captain's office. Ianto had the decency to look slightly embarrassed but Jack just winked.

"Is Jennie here yet?" Ianto asked the room in general.

"She's making coffee," Gwen told him.

Jennie came out of the small kitchen, this time though, she was unable to hide the shock of seeing Jack alive. She dropped the tray she was carrying, causing three mugs to clatter along the gantry.

"Are you okay?" Jack called up to her.

"Er... I... I went dizzy for a moment," Jennie stuttered. "I'm fine now."

Owen was instantly on his feet to help her, but she waved him down.

"Maybe I could just go home for the rest of the day."

Owen agreed but insisted she didn't drive herself. He volunteered Ianto for the task. Jennie's heart leapt. This was her chance to get Ianto into her house. He was the politest man on Earth and wouldn't refuse a cup of tea if offered.

Sure enough, Ianto accepted her offer and, cautiously, entered her house. He was under strict instruction from Jack to call the moment he was on his way back. If Ianto didn't call within the hour, Jack was going to come looking. Leaving Ianto on the sofa, Jennie went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Checking that he couldn't see her, she reached into the back of a cupboard and pulled out a small bottle of colourless liquid. She dripped a tiny amount of the liquid into one of the mugs, then made the tea as normal. Jennie handed the mug with the extra ingredient to Ianto.

"Thank you." he said with a smile, before taking a drink.

The drug worked almost instantly. Ianto's final though before darkness descended was, 'Jack's going to kill me'.

******************************************

Jack allowed Ianto an extra ten minutes on his hour before trying to ring him. It quickly became clear that the other man wasn't going to answer his phone.

"Owen!" he yelled, without getting up. "In here."

Owen gave a mock salute for the benefit of Gwen and Tosh, before joining Jack.

"You bellowed."

Jack apprised him of the events of the previous few days.

"And you let him go with her?" said Owen.

"I didn't think she'd do anything to him," the captain confessed. "but, I should have realised. Jennie is obviously obsessed by Ianto. Killing me is absolute proof of that."

Jack made a mental note to start doing psych' evaluations on all prospective Torchwood staff. Owen took Jack's coat (which Ianto had had invisibly mended) from the coat rack and threw it to him. The captain, who was normally so in control, seemed slightly at a loss.

"Come on then," urged Owen. "let's go and get him."

Jennie was also at a loss. Ianto was now lying on the floor with his ankles bound and his hands tied behind his back. Jennie didn't know what to do next. She had the object of her desire and was determined not to let him go. She knew, though, that Jack would come for him. It still surprised her when the Torchwood SUV pulled up outside. Panic consumed her and caused her judgement to become even more shaky. Jennie ran to the kitchen and opened the door to the basement. Back in the lounge, she grabbed Ianto by the shoulders and dragged him through the kitchen. By this time, Jack was hammering on the front door. Without even thinking about it, she pushed Ianto's unconscious form down the basement steps. Luckily, he was in no state to feel his head bounce against the steps, or feel his ribs breaking. Closing the door, Jennie took a deep breath to calm herself and went to answer the door.

"Sorry to bother you Jennie," Jack said as casually as possible. "but I need to speak to Ianto."

"He left about half an hour ago."

It was said slightly too fast, and over Owen's shoulder, Ianto's car stood as clear proof of her lie. Jack gave up his tenuous casual pretense and barged his way into the house, dragging Jennie with him. He shoved her onto the sofa and drew his gun on her. Owen started searching.

"Where is he?" snarled Jack.

"You're not good enough for him!" spat Jennie. "He should be mine."

"I'm probably not good enough," agreed Jack. "but he chose me and it doesn't give you the right to murder people."

"You should be dead."

"Tell me about it. Where is he, Jennie?"

"Jack, he's here," called Owen. "He's hurt."

Jennie jumped and, ignoring Jack's gun, ran to the basement. She knelt by Ianto and cradled his head in her hands.

"Oh, sweetheart," She sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

Owen tried to untie Ianto's hands but Jennie pushed him away.

"Don't touch him!"

"Let him go, Jennie," Jack warned her. "I will shoot you."

"You can't have him!" she screamed hysterically.

"I need to treat him," said Owen gently. "That head injury looks pretty nasty."

Jennie ignored him and started rocking gently. Her grip on sanity and finally snapped completely. However, her grip on Ianto's head was getting tighter and was in very real danger of suffocating him. Jack re-holstered his gun, realising that Jennie was in no state to respond to it.

"What do we do?" Owen mouthed silently.

Jack mimed the action of pulling them apart then counted to three with his fingers. When he reached three, Jack grabbed Jennie's hands while Owen took hold of Ianto. Jennie screamed like banshee and struggled like a demon. Temporarily abandoning Ianto, Owen ran to the SUV for his medical kit. He stuck a syringe full of anaesthetic into Jennie's shoulder. She lost consciousness quickly and Jack handcuffed her. Attention turned back to the prone Welshman. Owen released his hands and began an examination, while Jack untied his feet

"Owen?"

"There's a definite head injury and two cracked ribs by the feel of it," the medic explained. "and I think he's been drugged. Ianto is heavier and stronger than Jennie so there's no way she could have tied him up if he was fully aware."

While Owen prepared Ianto to be moved, Jack carried Jennie upstairs. He called Gwen and arranged for her come and sit with Jennie until she woke up. She would then be ret-conned.

******************************************

"I've been thinking about your next assistant." announced Jack, as he let himself into Ianto's flat.

"Forget it Jack."

Ianto was lying on his sofa, recovering well from his injuries. He'd been lucky not to have suffered permanent damage, but his ribs would still take a while to heal.

"I don't want an assistant," he continued. "If everyone starts doing there own filing and tidying up after themselves, I'll cope on my own."

"After one bad experience?"

Ianto was about to explain just how bad the experience had been, when he saw a smirk start at the corner of Jack's mouth.

"Seriously though, Jack. If things get too much, I'll let you know."

Jack leant over and kissed his lover.

"You'd better," he warned with a smile. "I need you fit."


End file.
